When functioning properly, the human heart maintains its own intrinsic rhythm. Its sinoatrial node generates intrinsic electrical cardiac signals that depolarize the atria, causing atrial heart contractions. Its atrioventricular node then passes the intrinsic cardiac signal to depolarize the ventricles, causing ventricular heart contractions. These intrinsic cardiac signals can be sensed on a surface electrocardiogram (i.e., a “surface ECG signal”) obtained from electrodes placed on the patient's skin, or from electrodes implanted within the patient's body (i.e., an “electrogram signal”). The surface ECG and electrogram waveforms, for example, include artifacts associated with atrial depolarizations (“P-waves”) and those associated with ventricular depolarizations (“QRS complexes”).
A normal heart is capable of pumping adequate blood throughout the body's circulatory system. However, some people have irregular cardiac rhythms, referred to as cardiac arrhythmias. Moreover, some patients have poor spatial coordination of heart contractions. In either case, diminished blood circulation may result. For such patients, a cardiac rhythm management system may be used to improve the rhythm and/or spatial coordination of heart contractions. Such systems are often implanted in the patient and deliver therapy to the heart.
Cardiac rhythm management systems include, among other things, pacemakers, also referred to as pacers. Pacers deliver timed sequences of low energy electrical stimuli, called pace pulses, to the heart, such as via an intravascular lead wire or catheter (referred to as a “lead”) having one or more electrodes disposed in or about the heart. Heart contractions are initiated in response to such pace pulses (this is referred to as “capturing” the heart). By properly timing the delivery of pace pulses, the heart can be induced to contract in proper rhythm, greatly improving its efficiency as a pump. Pacers are often used to treat patients with bradyarrhythmias, that is, hearts that beat too slowly, or irregularly. Such pacers may also coordinate atrial and ventricular contractions to improve pumping efficiency.
Cardiac rhythm management systems also include cardiac resynchronization therapy (CRT) devices for coordinating the spatial nature of heart depolarizations for improving pumping efficiency. For example, a CRT device may deliver appropriately timed pace pulses to different locations of the same heart chamber to better coordinate the contraction of that heart chamber, or the CRT device may deliver appropriately timed pace pulses to different heart chambers to improve the manner in which these different heart chambers contract together.
Cardiac rhythm management systems also include defibrillators that are capable of delivering higher energy electrical stimuli to the heart. Such defibrillators include cardioverters, which synchronize the delivery of such stimuli to sensed intrinsic heart activity signals. Defibrillators are often used to treat patients with tachyarrhythmias, that is, hearts that beat too quickly. Such too-fast heart rhythms also cause diminished blood circulation because the heart isn't allowed sufficient time to fill with blood before contracting to expel the blood. Such pumping by the heart is inefficient. A defibrillator is capable of delivering a high energy electrical stimulus that is sometimes referred to as a defibrillation countershock, also referred to simply as a “shock.” The countershock interrupts the tachyarrhythmia, allowing the heart to reestablish a normal rhythm for the efficient pumping of blood. In addition to pacers, CRT devices, and defibrillators, cardiac rhythm management systems also include devices that combine these functions, as well as monitors, drug delivery devices, and any other implantable or external systems or devices for diagnosing or treating the heart.
One problem faced by a cardiac rhythm management system treating certain ventricular tachyarrhythmias (VT), including ventricular fibrillation (VF), by a countershock, is in distinguishing such potentially dangerous arrhythmias from other heart rhythms, such as a supraventricular tachyarrhythmia (SVT), for which delivery of a responsive countershock is inappropriate, painful, and potentially risky. Some examples of such SVTs include atrial fibrillation (AF), atrial flutter, and sinus tachyarrhythmia.
One technique used in an implantable cardiac rhythm management device for discriminating between ventricular and supraventricular tachyarrhythmias compares the shape (“morphology”) of each cardiac complex detected on an electrogram, during a period of high heart rate, to a template cardiac complex that was detected on the electrogram during normal sinus rhythm experienced by an inactive patient. A detected cardiac complex having a morphology similar to the template is deemed indicative of an SVT. A detected cardiac complex having a morphology different from the template is deemed indicative of a VT. However, the present inventors have recognized that this determination is confounded by the fact that some SVTs (e.g., “SVT with aberrancy”) also have a morphology different from the template obtained during normal sinus rhythm of an inactive patient. As a result, using the above technique, such SVTs will instead be deemed indicative of VTs, resulting in the delivery of inappropriate countershocks. For these and other reasons, the present inventors have recognized that there exists an unmet need for improved techniques of discriminating between SVTs and VTs.